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Donkey for a Day
"Donkey for a Day" was the first half of the second episode of The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. It was originally broadcast on September 10, 1988 and was later included on the rare DVD release Growing up with Winnie the Pooh: All For One And One For All. It is also included on the VHS release "Newfound Friends," along with its companion story, "Friend, In Deed." To date, it remains one of the most popular and well-reviewed of all installments in the series. Eeyore is sitting on top of the hill outside of Piglet's house. Piglet is saddened that Eeyore is so gloomy, so he decides to do something about it. He, along with Pooh, Rabbit, Tigger, Owl and Roo, each try to cheer him up by trying various things. Story Detail Opening On a dark and stormy day, Eeyore is sitting at the top of a lonely hill. He looks around and from inside his warm house, Piglet watches him and laments that poor Eeyore is outside, staring at the clouds. He heads over to his table, stands on a chair and picks up a spoon, using it as a gavel to call a meeting. He clears his throat and says that he's called everyone there because of Eeyore. Rabbit, Tigger, Owl, Pooh and Roo approach the table. Piglet says that they have to do something about Eeyore's always being so sad that even now he's sitting out in the rain. Pooh asks just what it is that Piglet has in mind. Piglet says that if he were a very sad animal, he'd want someone to cheer him up. "Definutely," "absolutely," "of course," agree Tigger, Owl and Rabbit respectively. Tigger says that tomorrow they'll all take turns cheering up old Eeyore. "We'll be donkey for a day!" says Roo. Tigger says that he Roo will teach Eeyore how to bounce. Rabbit is not impressed by this, saying that gardening is the only true happiness. Owl has his own idea. "Flying! Soaring the light fantastic. Soaring high over hill and dale..." Roo tells Piglet that his idea is great and asks what he will do. Piglet thinks for a minute than slumps his shoulders. "What can I do?" Tigger says that he can just watch the rest of them in action and then "Do what Piglets do best, whatever that is." Pooh's Plan The scene changes to the next day. Piglet is walking around, his hands on his head, wondering what to do. "I know. I'll ask Pooh Bear how to make Eeyore happy." He heads to Pooh's house. Inside Pooh's house, Eeyore is there, at Pooh's invitation. He thanks him for inviting him. "Guess ya' couldn't get anyone more interesting to come." He asks if Pooh is serving leftovers, but Pooh replies that he's not, he's going to cheer him up. "But I'm already cheered up," responds Eeyore, and gives a goofy grin to try to prove it. Pooh pats him on the head and tells him that the way to stay the happiest is "to let your tongue lickle and keep your tummy tickled." Eeyore starts to say that he doesn't like honey, but Pooh forces a spoonful into his mouth. "I know what you mean," he says. "I can see you're happy already." He gets a pawful of honey for himself and Eeyore struggles to swallow the honey that's been forced into his mouth. "Pooh, if ya' don't mind..." he starts to say. "Of course I don't mind!" replies Pooh and he shoves an entire pot of honey into his snout. "Second helpings are what happiness is all about." Eeyore falls over and struggles to pull off the honey pot. From outside Pooh's window, Piglet watches, thinking that Eeyore is having a wonderful time. He droops, wondering how he'd ever make Eeyore as happy as that. Back inside, Pooh happily guzzles a pot of honey. "Oh bother, it's empty." He heads over to Eeyore, who is still struggling to pull his snoozle out of the honey pot. Pooh pulls it off. "So's yours!" he notes. "That's all right, Pooh," Eeyore tells him. "Donkeys aren't 'specially keen honey. 'Specially this donkey." Pooh suggests that they find something he does like. Plagued by Apples The scene changes and Pooh is now standing on top of Eeyore, underneath an apple tree. He says that first they'll get some apples. "Well, if you're sure you wanna waste them on me," says Eeyore. An apple falls on his head. "Look out, Eeyore!" calls Pooh. "I think I dropped one." Eeyore thanks him for "warning" him and walks out of the range of the apple tree, or so he thinks, until another apple falls on his head. "Watch out again!" calls Pooh. Eeyore walks even further away, only for an entire avalanche of apples to fall on him. The scene changes and Pooh is now surrounded by apple cores. It seems Pooh enjoyed the apples; he says "Now that was what I call a happy time." Eeyore says that he'd like to call a doctor, not that he's complaining. "Just think, we've still got lunch and dinner to go," chirps Pooh. He giggles and Eeyore looks shocked. He beats feet away from Pooh. Pooh figures that something must not have agreed with him. He says that he'll just have to start eating from the beginning and see where he went wrong. Up, Up and Away on My Beautiful Balloons Piglet is still walking around, monitoring what's happening with Eeyore. "Look at him, having so much fun." Eeyore is now with Owl, who has tied to some colorful balloons to him to make him float up in the air. "Why do I have the feeling this is not gonna be much fun?" laments Eeyore. Owl flies in loops and circles, telling Eeyore that it will be fun. "More fun that sitting on your old mountaintop." He uses his talons to pop most of the balloons. "Now did ya' do that?" wonders Eeyore. "Because it's time for your solo," replies Owl. He pops the last balloon. As Eeyore plummets to the ground, Owl reminisces about how he remembers his first flight, "soaring on high." There is a sound of Eeyore crashing on the ground, but Owl continues to wax rhapsodic about how the whole world was opening up before him. He hoots and chuckles. "It was like yesterday!" The Benefits of Hard Work The scene changes and now it's Rabbit that is with Eeyore. He's hooked him up to some sort of harness. He says that happiness is seeing the benefits of good, hard work, watching what you've planted with your own hands spring up fresh and green. "And then..." (he gives an evil laugh) "harvesting them!" He runs over to operate the contraption he has Eeyore hooked up to and accidentally knocks his tail off. "Oops." "Here we go again," says Eeyore, tucking his head underneath his legs. He says that his tail isn't important, but asks that Rabbit stick it back int he right place. Rabbit does, hard, and it sends Eeyore flying. He races through the Wood, pulling Rabbit along with him. Elsewhere, Piglet is busy making a list of ideas for trying to cheer up Eeyore and crossing them out. "Perhaps running would make Eeyore happy," he thinks. Even I could teach him that. Just then, Eeyore races by, pulling Rabbit along. "Slow down! Slow down!" shouts Rabbit. "Stop running so fast!" Piglet says that it's very frustrating to a small and uninspired animal. Bouncing The scene changes again and now Eeyore is bouncing on metal springs with Tigger and Roo. He says he guesses this must be "Make Eeyore Miserable Day." He asks Tigger what sort of agony he has in store for him. Roo tells him to not worry, for bouncing can make you happy. Tigger says that he'll be twice as happy because he has twice as many legs to bounce with. The three are shown bouncing in the distance as Piglet considers some more ideas. "Ice skating? Yo-yoing? Hiding under the bed?" He wonders what he's going to do, given that it's his turn next. Back with Eeyore, Tigger and Roo, the group bounces so high that the Wood below looks very small. "Abandon donkey!" he cries. He and Roo bolt as Eeyore continues to bounce on the springs. They then race back and grab onto the springs to try to stop Eeyore. They end up getting only the springs, while Eeyore shoots into the air. Tigger shouts that when he comes down, they'll be ready for him. Eeyore deadpans "I can hardly wait. Tallyho." Down below, Tigger and Roo lay down a mattress with springs. Unfortunately, they set it at the edge of a cliff, so when Eeyore lands, he falls off the edge and splashes into water, splattering Tigger and Roo. Tigger says that Eeyore sure swims better than he bounces. Cloud Painting The scene changes and Eeyore is sitting up on his hill again, watching the clouds roll by at sunset. Piglet approaches him. He clears his throat and starts to try to say something, but Eeyore stops him. "You too, little Piglet?" he asks. He puts on a helmet in an anticipation of whatever fresh torture Piglet has in store for him. He covers his eyes and says he's ready for Piglet to cheer him up. Piglet sputters that he'd love to and he's supposed to, but he's there to apologize. He says that Eeyore's always sitting up on the hill, being so sad, and everyone did such a good job of cheering him up, but he has no way to make him happy. He starts to walk away, dejectedly. Eeyore uncovers his eyes and takes off the helmet, realizing what it was that everyone was trying to do all day. He follows after Piglet and says he's grateful to them all, even if they almost killed him. "But I don't come up here because I'm sad. I come up here 'cause I'm happy." He says that he's going to show Piglet something because he's a good friend. He leads Piglet a bit up the hill, points with his ear and tells Piglet to watch a particular cloud. Piglet does and gasps in amazement as beautiful colored lights appear to fill up the sky. The rest of the gang comes racing up the hill, wondering what's happening. "My goodness!" exclaims Pooh. The others race up against Pooh and end up falling on their bums from the sudden stop. Pooh asks what's happening. "Cloud painting," explains Piglet with a giggle. "Eeyore invented it." Tigger says that it's spectacular and Eeyore replies that anybody can do it; you just have to use your imagination. Everyone gasps in wonder as rainbows of color appear to fall from the sky and Piglet thanks Eeyore for sharing this, as it's made everyone so happy. Eeyore replies that he's just returning the favor. The scene changes to show the hill from a distance and the story ends. Characters *Eeyore *Piglet *Rabbit *Tigger *Owl *Pooh *Roo Crew *Producer/Director - Karl Geurs Trivia *The sequence at the end of the story where Pooh and the others race to the top of Eeyore's hill and then join in the cloud-painting is seen towards the end of the opening sequence of most episodes of the show, just before Pooh and Christopher Robin are shown sitting on a hill. Additionally, Pooh's force-feeding of honey to Eeyore is also seen in this intro, immediately before the cloud-painting scene. Category:The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh episodes